The neighboring and NL Central rival Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs open their final series of the year at Wrigley Field on Friday in the only matinee of the day. It has huge potential playoff ramifications and the Cubbies are favored on the MLB Odds.

How to Bet Brewers vs Cubs MLB Odds & TV Info

• When: Friday, 2:20 PM ET
• Where: Wrigley Field
• Probable pitchers (away/home): Chase Anderson/Jose Quintana
• TV: MLB Network
• Live Stream: MLB.tv
• Radio: SiriusXM
• MLB Odds: Chicago Cubs -150

Weather Forecast

• Partly Cloudy: 22°C/72°F
• Humidity: 48%
• Precipitation: 0%
• Cloud Cover: 39%
• Wind: 9 mph NNE
• Stadium Type: Open

Why Bet on Milwaukee?

The Brewers were off Thursday and snapped a three-game losing streak with a 4-1 win over the Cardinals on Wednesday to conclude a homestand. Rookie Keston Hiura had three RBIs in that victory. The 23-year-old has enjoyed a tremendous debut season, batting .304 with 16 dingers and 43 RBI across 263 big-league at-bats. Hiura has now hit safely in 15 of his last 19 games, batting .316 (25-for-79) with 18 runs, 14 extra-base hits (9 2b, 5hr), 16 RBI, 8 walks and a 1.007 OPS. Between Triple-A and the majors, Hiura has slugged a combined 35 homers this year. Christian Yelich singled in the sixth inning to extend his on-base streak to 10 games, during which he’s recorded a .455 OBP.

Josh Hader got his 26th save Wednesday. He preserved the victory by firing a pair of shutout frames. Hader let up one hit—an eighth-inning double by Kolten Wong—while punching out three batters. Wednesday marked Hader’s first save in over three weeks. It also ended a spell of three straight blown saves for the left-hander.

Milwaukee could get a boost on Friday as manager Craig Counsell told reporters that he expects Mike Moustakas (hand) back over the weekend series against the Cubs. Moustakas has been out of the lineup since bruising his left wrist and palm while trying to field a grounder on Monday. X-rays were negative. It possible Moustakas might need until Saturday, though.

It’s Chase Anderson for the Brewers. Anderson (6-3) picked up the win in Saturday’s 4-0 victory over the Diamondbacks, allowing three hits and two walks over five scoreless innings while striking out five. The right-hander rebounded in fine fashion from the 10-run shellacking he endured at the hands of the Nats in his last start, firing 60 of 87 pitches for strikes to record his first win since July 17. Anderson will take a 4.34 ERA and 104:40 K:BB through 112 innings into his next outing Friday.

Anderson is 5-4 with a 2.79 ERA in 13 career games/12 starts against the Cubs (67.2ip, 21er), including 1-0 with a 3.38 ERA in 2 games/1 start this season (8ip, 3er). He has gone 2-2 with a 3.13 ERA in 7 career starts at Wrigley Field (31.2ip, 11er).

Team Stats

Offense

• Runs: 4.74
• Hits: 8.58
• Walks: 3.81
• Strike Outs: 9.48

Defense

• Runs: 5.04
• Hits: 8.71
• Walks: 3.65
• Strike Outs: 9.10

Why Bet on Chicago?

Off a trip to the Mets, the Cubs have now won two road series in a row after going winless in 12 straight road sets from Memorial Day through August 17 (0-10-2). They are one of the majors’ best teams at home.

Kyle Schwarber hit his 31st home run of the season Wednesday to surpass his previous 2017 career high of 30. He is only the third left-handed batter in franchise history with multiple 30-homer campaigns, joining Billy Williams (five times) and Anthony Rizzo (four times). Schwarber is now one of only five N.L. left-handed hitters with multiple 30 homer campaigns in the last three seasons.

Will the Cubs have star first baseman Rizzo back on Friday? Rizzo hasn’t played since leaving Saturday with the injury against the Nationals. Ian Happ has been seeing most of the playing time at first base. Happ had been 3-for-30 with no RBI since Aug. 13 before going 2-for-4 with a homer vs. the Mets on Wednesday.

All-Star catcher Willson Contreras (hamstring) caught a bullpen session and took batting practice this week in New York. He could potentially be activated off the injured list sometime next week. Contreras has been sidelined since Aug. 4 with a right hamstring strain.

The Cubs go with lefty Jose Quintana. Quintana (11-8) lasted just four innings and took the loss in Saturday’s 7-2 defeat by the Nationals. He struck out three and allowed five runs (four earned) on seven hits and three walks. Quintana was nicked for a first-inning run on an Anthony Rendon sacrifice fly but ran into bigger trouble in the third as the Nationals plated four runs on three singles and two walks. He was removed for a pinch hitter in the bottom of the fourth after throwing 79 pitches. Quintana will carry a 4.05 ERA and 1.29 WHIP into Friday.

Quintana will be making his 16th-career start against the Brewers, including his 12th since the start of last season. His 11 starts since Milwaukee since 2018 are the most in baseball by any pitcher against any single opponent. Quintana is 1-2 with a 7.08 ERA in four starts against Milwaukee this season, though has a 4.15 ERA (8 ER/17.1 IP) in his last three starts. He is 3-2 with a 2.72 ERA (11 ER/36.1 IP) in six starts vs. Milwaukee at Wrigley Field.

Team Stats

Offense

• Runs: 4.95
• Hits: 8.45
• Walks: 3.62
• Strike Outs: 9.05

Defense

• Runs: 4.44
• Hits: 8.50
• Walks: 3.14
• Strike Outs: 8.65

Brewers vs Cubs MLB Betting Trends

• Brewers are 2-5 in Andersons last 7 starts vs. a team with a winning record
• Cubs are 7-3 in their last 10 vs. National League Central
• Brewers are 0-5 SU in their last 5 games when playing on the road against Cubs
• The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Milwaukee’s last 5 games this season
• Cubs are 12-5 SU in their last 17 games at home
• The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Chi Cubs’ last 7 games played on a Friday

Expert Final Score Prediction for Brewers vs Cubs

Milwaukee Brewers 3 – Chicago Cubs 6